The earliest records of a church in Burnley date back to Medieval times, where a church in Burnley was gifted to Pontefract Priory in 1122. Nothing remains of this old church, the oldest part of the current church dating to the 15th century. By the early 16th century the church had become dilapidated, but in 1532-3 sections were rebuilt. As the town developed, the congregation grew and the church expanded.
The churchyard at St Peter's is well overgrown with bramble and other plants, making access impossible to most of the graves. Grave are either sarcophagi (above ground) or graves with stone lids (rather than headstones. Most were again covered with lichen or badly degraded. Although records show some ancestors buried here, I have been unable to locate them.
